Important to the business of selling movies electronically via the Internet includes efficient electronic distribution and/or file sharing. The process of sharing computer files (including digitized movies) via communications means has increased in importance with the proliferation of the Internet for electronic distribution and file transfer. The creation of file sharing and/or peer-to-peer networks (e.g. Gnutella) has enabled users of computer workstations, which lack traditional serving software to distribute computer files. Traditionally, serving computers (e.g. computers running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server) performed the task of distributing computer files to client work stations using a centralized network architecture. The advent of file sharing and/or peer-to-peer networks gave way to a decentralized network architecture comprised of multiple computer workstations (e.g. host nodes) acting as redundant repositories, each capable of transferring the same computer files. Some of the current file sharing and/or peer-to-peer networks communicate in an open and un-trusted manner. Additionally, trusted peer-to-peer networks have relied on a centralized process of identifying members and their related IP address to establish the trusted peer-to-peer network.